Tips for Aspiring Actors

By Marty Nemko

First choose a niche. Are you the insecure villain type? A singing airhead? Be sure your headshot, sample reel, and resume capture it, and send the package to local acting agencies. To avoid starving in the meantime, rather than or in addition to waiting tables, consider interim jobs that will help polish your craft: mock trial participant, mock patient (used in medical school training), roleplaying in employee training seminars, police crisis simulation, traffic school instructor, and Santa Claus.

What can you do today?
The Screen Actors Guild offers tips for wannabe actors. For all the links an aspiring actor could want, see American Federation of TV and Radio Artists website.